The answer came through a call to a nurse who deals with sexual assault victims. “Her clothes would have gone to evidence,” said Ann Walters, assistant costume designer for the HBO series.So LaDonna went home from the hospital in a lumpy gray sweatshirt that added a fleecy layer of vulnerability to her battered reserve.

Behind the scenes this season, Rogan is writing the songs that McAlary composes and performs in the HBO drama, including earlier-episodes songs about Teach for America and a slow-jam love song that baffles producer Don Bartholomew. Rogan also wrote episode six’s “Road Home” rap.

But how to recreate some of Manhattan’s starriest dining establishments on a soundstage in New Orleans? Cue Chester Kaczenski, the production designer for the series and the mastermind behind its painstakingly accurate scenes of hurricane-induced destruction.